Musings, ponderings and various observations on the intersection of BJJ/Martial arts training and the living of life. I have no inclination toward either political correctness or correct spelling. This blog, such as it is, remains fundamentally an unfiltered gush of thought ... both raw and unpolished.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

I am not sure what to do - but I am quite certain of what not to do!

A lot of the most robust learning we do in life is kind of hidden. Well, not so much hidden, as overlooked. A lot of the best learning we do is in the discovery of what NOT to do.

Don’t swim in the water where the crocodiles are; don’t spend more money than you earn; don’t eat more food than your body can use; don’t try and push your partner off the mount.

Although these examples seem obvious - think about how often they represent a body of knowledge that is ignored or overlooked.

Every year, weirdly, people (in Australia at least) are eaten by crocodiles (outcome: death)

A very significant part of the population (including the smart and even high-earning segment) spend more money than what they earn (outcome: big debt)

And of course, a lot of people take in more calories than what they can possibly burn (outcome: obesity)

And beginners, even after they are advised not to, still try to push their partners off the mount position (outcome: get arm- barred)

Knowing what not to do is a very important part of living a happy and anti -fragile life.

Same goes for the practise of BJJ of course. There are lots of things we could try and experiment with on the mat (and we should) but knowing what NOT to do is very often overlooked (especially by beginners).

Some White Belt examples of what not to do:

Don’t leave your arms flailing about when you grapple

Don’t leave one arm in and the other out when executing a basic pass

Don’t fight so hard that you are exhausted and can no longer think clearly just 2 minutes into the match

Don’t move around so frantically that you lose your balance

Don’t give your opponent your back

Don’t act in a away that have people fleeing from you when it comes time to pair up and roll

it all sounds so easy. But knowing what NOT to do is a very important pool of knowledge that we can add to constantly as we go through life. It can make a real difference to outcomes over the long haul. - JBW